Smart Startups: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know--Advice from 18 Harvard Business School Founders

Startup company founders and angel investors examine the experiences of eighteen Harvard Business School graduates who founded companies, revealing valuable insights for success and unexpected pitfalls for aspiring entrepreneurs. The book challenges conventional wisdom and provides essential knowledge to help aspiring entrepreneurs avoid failure and achieve success.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 26 October 2023
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc

Two startup company founders and angel investors embark on a fascinating journey inside eighteen companies founded by Harvard Business School graduates. Their mission? To uncover surprising lessons for success and unexpected pitfalls essential for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the most successful entrepreneurs possess a natural genius for starting companies, experience countless lightning-bolt moments of inspiration, follow a tried-and-true process to scale to a billion dollars, and effortlessly attract deep-pocketed investors at every turn. However, the real story is far more unconventional and captivating.

Catalina Daniels and James Sherman, driven by a hunger to study and apply the best practices of startups to their own ventures, were classmates at Harvard Business School. Years later, after successfully founding and exiting several companies and serving as angel investors in start-ups, they were surprised to discover that their experiences greatly diverged from what they had been taught in school. HBS provided a world-class education in the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Yet, there was a vast amount of knowledge they acquired through hands-on experience that, in hindsight, they wished they had known before embarking on their entrepreneurial journeys.

Inspired by their findings, Daniels and Sherman embarked on a mission to interview eighteen HBS graduates and entrepreneurs who had founded companies like Blue Apron, Rent the Runway, Gilt, and AdoreMe. Their goal was to delve into their experiences, uncovering the secrets to their success, and sharing what they wished they had known before starting up.

The authors bring these insights to life through captivating storytelling, showcasing the founders in their own words and allowing readers to engage in a virtual coffee chat with these remarkable entrepreneurs. No other book has unearthed such valuable advice from so many HBS entrepreneurs. This comprehensive guide is a must-read for anyone aspiring to launch their own successful venture.

Weight: 490g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780063316317